John Winkworth-Smith

Director & Consultant Mediator

"We were lost in admiration for John's calmness, patience and words of wisdom."

John Winkworth-Smith, Director & Consultant Mediator

 

Solicitor

"My clients had unrealistic expectations of what to expect… and John managed this very well without patronising."

     

  • Agriculture & Farming
  • Construction
  • Manufacturing
  • Defence
  • Railways
  • Telecoms
  • Land
  • Employment

 

  • Private Companies
  • s. 459 Companies Act
  • Partnership
  • Ecclesiastical matters

 

Mediation experience

John Winkworth-Smith is one of the pioneers of mediation in the UK having been a founder director in 1990 of the largest mediation organisation in Europe.

John has very wide experience as a mediator. His subjects range from satellite technology to sheep. He has mediated disputes involving organisations from the size of government to individuals, and from complex cases worth up to $625,000,000 down to simple cases small in value. In multi-party cases, he has experienced up to 7 parties with 5 different systems of law requiring a number of translators.

In his professional life as a former Regional Managing Partner of DLA Piper he specialised in commercial litigation dealing with large international disputes, particularly in the USA, Japan, Austria, Italy and Australasia. He was highly regarded for his ability quickly to master the technical aspects of his cases.

Mediation style

John’s style is informal, but to the point. He seeks always to persuade parties to take a realistic approach to their position.

Parties comments about him include:-

"Very professional, clearly experienced and he knew what he was doing."

"He could put each party's arguments across in an even-handed manner."

"We would have no hesitation in using John again as a mediator."

"He was very open to the parties' suggestions, flexible and built a good rapport."

"My clients had unrealistic expectations of what to expect… and John managed this very well without patronising."

"We were lost in admiration for John's calmness, patience and words of wisdom."

“A well structured mediation which helped concentrate the mind and bring about a solution”

Chambers Guide to the Legal Profession

John has been named as a leader and expert in the field of Mediation in this guide ever since this subject has been included. Comments have included:-

"Able and impressive"

"Creative solutions"

"Calm, pleasant yet strong persona"

"Tenacity and patience"

Clients respond to Winkworth-Smith's " effective blend of interpersonal skills and toughness"

 

Professional Background

John was a former Regional Managing Partner and board member of DLA (now DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary). He had been a partner of the predecessor firms for 25 years and head of litigation and ADR.

He specialised in commercial litigation dealing with large complex international disputes, mainly in the field of intellectual property and breach of contract, particularly in the USA, Japan, Italy, Austria and Australasia. He was highly regarded for his ability quickly to master the technical aspects of his cases.

In addition to acquiring management skills in his professional capacity, John has held chairmanships of a number of charitable organisations and companies. He also runs his own farming business and is involved in the tourist industry.

He has given numerous seminars on the subject of ADR including lecturing at The University of Sheffield.

 

Mediation Cases

Examples include:

Agriculture

  • Grazing rights
  • Foot & Mouth – dispute over compensation
  • Sale & servicing of agricultural machinery
  • Crop protection products
  • Seeds & fertilisers
  • Breach of employment terms by agricultural employee
  • Neighbour dispute over agricultural land
  • SPS dispute re sale of land

Companies

  • Numerous disputes over valuation
  • Dispute as to contribution made by directors of small company
  • Dispute over sale agreement
  • Alleged fraudulent conversion of assets
  • Numerous S459 Companies Act disputes
  • Family company disputes

Construction

  • Dispute over building of hotel
  • Construction of lorry park
  • Fitting out of commercial kitchens
  • Installation of security door systems
  • Break up of industrial floorings
  • Double glazing dispute on new housing estate
  • Numerous disputes over expensive house building
  • Landslip - housing estate
  • Landslip - factory
  • Security fencing design
  • Sign erection contract for petrol stations
  • Destruction of underground electricity cables
  • Numerous disputes over variation orders

Contract

Disputes over:

  • Sale agreement of assets
  • Authorship rights
  • Accountancy fees
  • Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs)
  • Barbecue sauce sachets
  • Solicitors fees
  • Sports clothing
  • Finders fee for property developers
  • Numerous cases of claims for work done

Electricity

  • Claim of fraud over meter readings by electricity supplier against major landlord

Employment

  • Disputes between company directors
  • Agricultural employment cases
  • Protection of commercial secrets

Engineering

  • Battery technology
  • Metal die casting
  • Plastic profiling
  • Call centre equipment
  • Slitting machines
  • Security control systems
  • Defective seals in aircraft engines
  • Steel manufacturing equipment
  • Steel tubes
  • Agricultural equipment
  • Super Yachts
  • Double Glazing manufacturing equipment
  • Motor components
  • Granulated rubber strips for use in printing industry
  • Tyre re-tread machinery

Fraud

  • Fraudulent claims against Government for compensation
  • Cross claims for fraud in a major international dispute
  • Fraud claims against company directors

Government

  • Satellite technology
  • Defence systems
  • Battle tanks
  • Aerial warfare systems
  • Fraudulent claims for compensation
  • Railways

Intellectual property

Disputes over:

  • Trade Marks
  • Trade Names – Baby prams
  • Copyright – vans fitted out to particular design

Local Authorities

  • Dispute over by-pass
  • Planning disputes
  • Public transport contracts

Partnership

  • Disputes between:
  • Solicitors
  • Accountants
  • Business partners

Professional negligence

  • Claims against:
  • Solicitors
  • Accountants
  • Surveyors

Railways

  • Dispute over de-railed train

Sport/Media

  • Multi-million pound dispute between sports body and TV company over TV rights
  • Dispute over Premier Footballer’s fees with his Agent
  • Dispute between Rugby clubs over transfer of player

International

    Dealt with disputes between parties from:

  • USA
  • Hong Kong
  • New Zealand
  • Sweden
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Russia
  • Guernsey
  • Switzerland
  • Tajikistan
  • India

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mediation works ...It's often difficult to see what's really going on in a dispute - mediation cuts to the issues

"... because it helps the parties to resolve even the most difficult disputes in a practical way. It deals with their real interests and needs without the risks and costs of further court proceedings. The parties achieve their own solution without an imposed decision."

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